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Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

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Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#411

Post by brundolf »

jtwaleson wrote: post #183

Ok, here's my problem with the movie theatre industry. There's 100+ years of fantastic historical content and we're not doing anything with it. 99% of what's shown in theaters is new releases. I understand we don't want to "go stale" as a society and that movie producers also need to make a living, but the balance is just way off. I would pay good money to see "the good the bad and the ugly" with my kids in a couple…

Alamo Drafthouse does this kind of thing constantly. Not just showings of old movies (where "old" can mean anything from 80 to 5 years), but themed movie parties with props and costumes and special food and drinks. They'll do a theme for the month and curate a set of movies around it, showing a trailer for the collection before regular movies. They'll have the original directors or stars come in for screenings and they'll do Q&A afterward.

Combined with the overall experience (which is hands and feet above that of Cinemark or AMC), Alamo feels like the only theater company that still gets it.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#412

Post by ibejoeb »

jtwaleson wrote: post #183

Ok, here's my problem with the movie theatre industry. There's 100+ years of fantastic historical content and we're not doing anything with it. 99% of what's shown in theaters is new releases. I understand we don't want to "go stale" as a society and that movie producers also need to make a living, but the balance is just way off. I would pay good money to see "the good the bad and the ugly" with my kids in a couple…

There are plenty that do this. Some do this exclusively, like the New Beverly Cinema. I suppose you're suggesting that the national brands should offer this rather than specialty houses. That could be pretty cool, but they need to step it up a bit.

It needs to be more demand-driven and offer up tons of titles. I'd love to be able to pick a title and see it in a theater. I want the experience where I can select a film from a vast library and just go see it. Maybe I could post about it to get other confirmed bookings, and then if it hits a threshold, it gets played. There are significant legal complications for licensing, surely, and there are practical technical challenges around distribution and DRM.

Additionally, the theaters need to sell drinks and offer entertaining environments in more of a mixed way. Arclight had a fair amount of success with its concept, offering cafe, bar, and restaurant experiences.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#413

Post by smegger001 »

KptMarchewa wrote: post #404
kbenson wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some movies benefit enormously from a shared viewing experience, and the more people the better (to a point). Here's an example of a recent movie which such a moment (there's actually a lot of audience reaction videos to just this singular moment in this movie, which is telling as to how many people feel the same way).[1] This specific example likely wouldn't be quite the same in an older movie where people knew to e…

I think this type of behavior happens only in USA. I can't imagine hearing more than a gasp during movie in my country.

On the other hand think of the reaction people had when watching the First Star War Prequal when the opening crawl started on opening weekend(we didn't know yet), Avengers: Endgame when Tony got the Gauntlet. Watching all of the Doctors show up at the climax of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode simulcast in theatre. Its a communal experience then. the first glory shot of the Enterprise in 2009, The cheer of the crowd knowing everyone else is feeling the same as you are is a amazing feel you cant get at home watching you 80 inch flat screen.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#414

Post by hellbannedguy »

jtwaleson wrote: post #183

Ok, here's my problem with the movie theatre industry. There's 100+ years of fantastic historical content and we're not doing anything with it. 99% of what's shown in theaters is new releases. I understand we don't want to "go stale" as a society and that movie producers also need to make a living, but the balance is just way off. I would pay good money to see "the good the bad and the ugly" with my kids in a couple…

I too have seen theaters that offered great old movies, but only a few people showed up.

I for one would be happy if I never saw another action movie, or superhero flick.

I get why the studios are making them. They can be seen around the world. The movies are simple so dialogue, script, and plot, don't matter much.

Plus--there's another whole fortune to be made on licensing products.

As to why people don't go to the theater, I guess it's a generational thing?

I loved going to a dinner, and a movie, on a friday night with my high school, and college, girlfriend.

Today 20 somethings have Netflix and chill. If I had Netflix and chill years ago, I would have probally gone that route too.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#415

Post by SavantIdiot »

jtwaleson wrote: post #183

Ok, here's my problem with the movie theatre industry. There's 100+ years of fantastic historical content and we're not doing anything with it. 99% of what's shown in theaters is new releases. I understand we don't want to "go stale" as a society and that movie producers also need to make a living, but the balance is just way off. I would pay good money to see "the good the bad and the ugly" with my kids in a couple…

Fortunately I have a DVD/VHS* store rental near me that has 100,000+ titles, so as longs as the DVDs don't break, this will be an option for me.

I don't understand why DVD stores don't make a comeback, because they aren't subject to the crazy streaming licenses.

Or am I really that "unhip"?

* Yes, you can actually rent a VHS player too

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#416

Post by fullshark »

mentos wrote: post #106

I have no clue how they're making money on these movies that are going straight to streaming platforms? With a movie releasing in theatres there was a sense of urgency to see it on the big screen with big sound and big lights. Being able to stream it whenever you want from home now means you never will. Not sure if any platforms do it already but they should try to create a sense of scarcity by offering only a limite…

It’s all just investments to reach a subscriber base of X with a retention rate of at least Y by certain dates. If you are ahead or behind adjust your capital spend accordingly.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#417

Post by SavantIdiot »

IAmGraydon wrote: post #118

Through my work, I have access to Placer.ai, which allows me to track foot traffic to any retail location or chain via visitors' cellphone GPS. Here's AMC's nationwide foot traffic from January 2017 through July 4, 2021. https://i.imgur.com/s3H7EYj.png

Totally OT, but have you tried pathr.ai? Curious about both of them, as they seem similar.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#418

Post by kristianc »

kbenson wrote: post #394
kristianc wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are theaters that are dedicated to playing older movies, and they apparently turn enough profit to subsist in some locations. I think that makes this a top comment on HN with a profitable use case complaining that there's not enough around. Great. Now every movie theatre starts doing that. What happens to profit margins?

> Great. Now every movie theatre starts doing that. What happens to profit margins? Why would every movie theater need to do that? That seems like an absurd proposition. Do I really need to watch older movies in some newer giant theater designed with a special sounds system that the entire theater needs to be certified for if I'm watching a movie that wasn't scored to take advantage of it? > What happens to profit ma…

The OP is saying that movie theatres are economically unviable. GP said that the problem with the industry was that they limited themselves to showing latest releases. If a few can turn a profit by showing old timey films, that’s great for them and anyone who lives near them but hardly a solution to the sustainability of the movie industry as a whole.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#419

Post by SavantIdiot »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #99

I think this interview that gets at a broader point that I find depressing/scary: that the availability of so much data and analysis has ended up "quantizing" creative endeavors to the point where formulaic output is just much, much easier, and that any truly innovative or "misunderstood" productions become much harder to sustain. I really see this issue everyone nowadays, from movies, TV and music to things like the…

I disagree, slightly.

Cinema during WW2 and the 15 years that followed was almost all cookie-cutter nonsense. For the handful of classics that we can tick off on our fingers today, there were dozens of stinkers.

Instead of computerized algorithms, they had fat walrus-like algorithms wearing well-tailored suits, big waistlines and stubby cigars trying to make the same picture over and over again (Grace Kelly, Liz Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Bridgette Bardot, Veronica Saint, Jane Mansfield vs Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant vs Rock Hudson, etc.).

There is always money in capturing trends, and there will always be independent cinema. Lynch, Jones, Almodovar, Coppola (both), and new emerging stars will always find benefactors to make outstanding films for every 12 Marvel/DC stinkers modern hollywood craps out.

Re: Barry Diller: The movie business as before is finished and will never come back

#420

Post by cmeacham98 »

kevinventullo wrote: post #336
gregsadetsky wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) A device's location can be guessed with your IP address at the very least. 2) Wifi networks. On iOS, I'm almost sure that apps cannot access the list of wifi networks that the device sees. As you may know, the list of wifi access point MAC addresses can be used to triangulate a device's geolocation (there was a related case with Google Streets View cars gobbling up that info[0]) On Android, wifi network MAC addres…

Android requires location services enabled to do ambient WiFi scans: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/wifi... However, I believe connected WiFi information can be obtained on Android without location services enabled. On iOS, I believe an app needs special permission even to fetch connected WiFi, and I believe you are correct that there is no way to access ambient WiFi scans.

> However, I believe connected WiFi information can be obtained on Android without location services enabled.

Correct, you need the "Access network state" permission (renamed to a more sensible "View network connections" in more recent versions of Android).

However, to my knowledge neither the play store or Android system warn/ask you about this permission so to avoid it you have to explicitly check every app you install.

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